SEED LA is the first STEM-focused school in the SEED Network; however, SEED has always provided science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, or “STEAM” courses.
Recently, we spoke to three SEED educators: Dr. Lamar Bagley, director of student life at SEED DC; Andrew Pham, director of the InfoArmor Cyber Lab at SEED MD; and David Cespedes, technology coordinator at SEED Miami. Each of these educators play a vital role in supporting our scholars as they develop interests in STEAM-related careers. Learn more about how our educators are supporting our scholars below.
Andrew Pham currently serves as the director of the InfoArmor Cyber Lab at SEED MD. Previously, he was a director at iD Tech Camps, a summer computer camp based in Campbell, California, that specializes in providing computer technology education to children ages 7 through 19. Andrew noticed that the demographic of students attending these camps was not very diverse and wanted to bring a computer science curriculum to students who need it the most. “I began to wonder what it would look like to bring students in Baltimore City the same opportunities as their more affluent peers. The gap is opportunity, not ability—and I want to help our students graduate from SEED with a digital portfolio that they can use to apply for college,” said Mr. Pham. During his time at SEED MD, he has helped launch the InfoArmor Cyber Lab, which offers classes in 3D design and fabrication, coding, robotics, and more! Andrew’s next goal is to implement advanced placement or AP classes in computer science, cyber security, networking, and other tech-related classes.
David Cespedes joined the SEED Network as technology coordinator this June. With a background in architecture, David ran his own digital design firm for four years while living in New York. David is looking forward to increasing the range of technology courses available to SEED students. “Our programming will have a big impact on our students and enable them to explore technology, programming, and coding. It will also open doors to potential professions and industries that they can apply the skills they are practicing,” shared Mr. Cespedes. SEED Miami’s upperclassmen can now take Intro to Technology and App Design to learn the rudiments of prototyping ideas for websites and mobile apps. Next year, David plans to implement classes in 3D printing and 3D prototyping.
Dr. Bagley has worked at SEED DC for 15 years, holding several roles during his tenure. He initially served as a 12th grade English teacher and now serves as director of student life, overseeing the 16 hours of programming that lie outside the academic day. Dr. Bagley has also been a key force in driving the arts programming—the A in STEAM—at SEED DC. In his role as producing artistic director for The SEED Falcon Theatre, Dr. Bagley exposes students to the various forms of performing (theater, music, dance), fine and visual art forms, production, competition, and entertainment. As students are now learning remotely, Dr. Bagley has pursued different ways to engage his scholars. His team is currently undergoing training to add “Zoomsticals” to the curriculum, where students can perform plays via Zoom. Dr. Bagley plans to introduce Zoomsticals to his students in the beginning of 2021. “Our artistic team went through a training to do Zoomsticals—a musical via Zoom. We are looking forward to sharing some of those experiences with our students and hope to do a musical production early in the year,” shared Dr. Bagley.
At SEED, we believe in listening to our students as they express career interests and giving them the resources and skills to make their dreams come true. We look forward to growing our STEAM programming at SEED.